WASHINGTON -
No. 15 Georgetown used a big first half, taking advantage of a first half wind at their backs, and held off Villanova in the second half for a 3-1 BIG EAST Conference women's soccer road victory on Sunday afternoon.

It was the third-straight win for the Hoyas, ranked No. 15 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and No. 8 in Soccer America, who improved to 14-1-2 overall and 6-1-1 in the BIG EAST. Villanova falls to 6-8-3 and 3-4-1 in league play.

"It was a good win," Head Women's Soccer Coach Dave Nolan said. "We played well in the first half. We had a bit of a wind advantage at our backs and we wanted to get out on top of them early because we knew we'd be going into it in the second half."

Georgetown did take advantage of it, scoring three first half goals in the opening 21 minutes to take a 3-0 lead, the first from senior forward Kaitlin Brenn (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville), followed by scores from senior midfielder Kailey Blain (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) and junior forward Audra Ayotte (Marlborough, Conn./RHAM).

"Kaitlin scored a good goal to get us out on top and then Kailey had a really great goal to push the lead to two and that took the fight out of them a bit," Nolan said. "When we got the third, it really took the wind out of their sails."

In the fourth minute the Hoyas had momentum going forward in Villanova territory and sophomore midfielder Marina Paul (Aliso Viejo, Calif./Laguna Beach) played the ball up to Brenn, who one-timed the ball into the back of the net from the middle of the 18-yard box at 3:36 for the first goal of the game.

After the goal Georgetown continued to put pressure on the Wildcats defense and maintained possession for several minutes.
Blain extended the Hoyas lead to 2-0 at 10:33 when she blasted a shot from 25 yards out that was tucked right under the crossbar.

In the 22nd minute an initial shot by junior midfielder Daphne Corboz (Green Brook, N.J./Watchung Hills) was saved by Villanova goalkeeper Jami Kranich at close range but the rebound fell to Ayotte, who scored at 21:20 to make the score 3-0.

Georgetown outshot the Wildcats by a 7-1 margin before halftime, with all seven shots coming in the first 22 minutes of the half.

Villanova got on the board in the 67th minute when Katie Martin scored on a penalty kick, but the Hoyas limited chances for the Wildcats en route to their ninth shutout of the season.

The Hoyas out-shot Villanova, 10-6, and had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.

"Emily (Menges) and Mary (Kroening) were really good at the back and Kailey and Marina dominated the midfield," Nolan said. "It's never an easy place to play, but it's always good to get a road win."

Georgetown closes out the 2013 regular season next weekend, hosting Seton Hall on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff on Senior Day at Shaw Field is slated for 1 p.m. The Hoyas still need a win against the Pirates to ensure a second place finish in the league, earning a first round by in the conference tournament.

"Fair play to DePaul (in third place) because they keep winning and putting the pressure on us," Nolan said. "We can't afford to slip up and we have to continue to play hard. We still need to keep winning to get a berth and to maintain the momentum."